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Title: From economy to luxury: Copper homeostasis in Chlamydomonas and other algae

Journal Article · · Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Molecular Cell Research

Plastocyanin and cytochrome c6, abundant proteins in photosynthesis, are readouts for cellular copper status in Chlamydomonas and other algae. Their accumulation is controlled by a transcription factor copper response regulator (CRR1). The replacement of copper-containing plastocyanin with heme-containing cytochrome c6 spares copper and permits preferential copper (re)-allocation to cytochrome oxidase. Under copper-replete situations, the quota depends on abundance of various cuproproteins and is tightly regulated, except under zinc-deficiency where acidocalcisomes over-accumulate Cu(I). CRR1 has a transcriptional activation domain, a Zn-dependent DNA binding SBP-domain with a nuclear localization signal, and a C-terminal Cys-rich region that represses the zinc regulon. CRR1 activates >60 genes in Chlamydomonas through GTAC-containing CuREs; transcriptome differences are recapitulated in the proteome. The differentially-expressed genes encode assimilatory copper transporters of the CTR/SLC31 family including a novel soluble molecule, redox enzymes in the tetrapyrrole pathway that promote chlorophyll biosynthesis and photosystem 1 accumulation, and other oxygen-dependent enzymes, which may influence thylakoid membrane lipids, specifically polyunsaturated galactolipids and γ-tocopherol. Additionally, CRR1 also down-regulates 2 proteins in Chlamydomonas: for plastocyanin, by activation of proteolysis, while for the di-iron subunit of the cyclase in chlorophyll biosynthesis, through activation of an upstream promoter that generates a poorly-translated 5' extended transcript containing multiple short ORFs that inhibit translation. Furthermore, the functions of many CRR1-target genes are unknown, and the copper protein inventory in Chlamydomonas includes several whose functions are unexplored. The comprehensive picture of cuproproteins and copper homeostasis in this system is well-suited for reverse genetic analyses of these under-investigated components in copper biology.

Research Organization:
Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER); National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0012704; GM 042143
OSTI ID:
1828453
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1649988; OSTI ID: 1650680
Report Number(s):
BNL-216266-2020-JAAM; S0167488920301804; 118822; PII: S0167488920301804
Journal Information:
Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Molecular Cell Research, Journal Name: Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Molecular Cell Research Vol. 1867 Journal Issue: 11; ISSN 0167-4889
Publisher:
ElsevierCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
Netherlands
Language:
English

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